POTTSTOWN — The arrest last week of a Lower Pottsgrove teenager who allegedly was texting while driving just moments before he fatally struck a jogger on a Limerick roadway came one year after a new law banning such activity was implemented.

But according to an analysis by the American Automobile Association, that teenager was not the only person who allegedly engaged in the illegal activity behind the wheel in Montgomery County in the year since Pennsylvania’s texting while driving law took effect March 8, 2012.

Montgomery County authorities, according to the AAA analysis, cited 111 drivers under the new law between March 8, 2012, and March 5, 2013. Montgomery County ranked second in the state in total number of citations issued, only behind Philadelphia, where 243 texting while driving citations were issued during the first year of the law.

Allegheny County ranked third in the state with 110 citations issued.

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Comparatively, in the Pottstown tri-county area, Chester County law enforcers issued 49 texting while driving citations, while Berks County authorities issued 19 citations, according to the AAA analysis.

Delaware County authorities issued 75 citations while Bucks County authorities issued 67 and Lehigh County authorities issued 32, according to the analysis.

AAA Mid-Atlantic, which serves 700,000 members in the Philadelphia five-county region, requested data from the state Administration Office of Pennsylvania Courts and found that in the first full year of the law being in effect there were a total of 1,302 citations issued statewide.

Pennsylvania crash statistics show a small decline in distracted driving fatalities for 2012, AAA officials said. According to preliminary numbers from the state, there were 57 deaths in distracted driver crashes last year, compared to 59 deaths in 2011 and 66 fatalities in 2010.

“These numbers are an encouraging start in the process of educating drivers and saving lives. The goal is to change behavior and get people to stop texting behind the wheel, not just wait until they do it and then see them get a ticket,” said Jenny M. Robinson, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “It will be interesting to see if citations increase during the law’s second year as motorists become more aware of it and police become more active in enforcing the primary offense.”

Texting while driving is now a primary offense in Pennsylvania, a summary charge that carries a fine of $50.

The state House of Representatives has passed a resolution designating April 2013 as “Distracted Driving Awareness Month.” In that resolution, House members, citing national statistics, indicated 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver and 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2011.

House members encouraged parents, teens, teachers and community leaders to discuss the risk of distracted driving, which they said “comes in various forms, including using a cellular telephone or other electronic device, eating and drinking, smoking, engaging in conversation and using a navigation system while driving.”

According to federal research cited by AAA, sending or reading a text takes a person’s eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds. At 55 mph, that’s like driving the length of an entire football field, blindfolded, officials said.

Last week, authorities charged Justin Matthew Jackson, 18, of the 3600 block of Walnut Ridge Estate, with prohibiting text-based communication, recklessly endangering another person, careless and reckless driving, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of marijuana, homicide by vehicle and DUI in connection with the 2:45 p.m. March 4 crash that claimed the life of jogger Merinda R. Thompson, 40, of Royersford. Jackson is awaiting his preliminary hearing on the charges.

“The message is very simple, when you are behind the wheel of a car there should be only one activity that you are paying attention to. You should be driving your vehicle safely,” District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said at the time of Jackson’s arrest.

“You can do everything else when you get to where you need to go or you can stop somewhere and do what you need to do but there is only one safe way to operate a vehicle and that is just driving the vehicle without other distractions,” Ferman added.

The investigation, which included a search of the contents of Jackson’s cell phone, determined that prior to the crash, between 2:23 p.m. and 2:41 p.m., Jackson was engaged in a series of “chat messages” with another person, according to the criminal complaint.

A 911 call connected to the crash was created by Montgomery County Emergency Dispatch at 2:45 p.m., according to authorities.

“I feel like I’m a broken record when I say this, and I particularly target young drivers when I say this, but you cannot run your life from the driver’s seat of a car while you’re on the road,” Ferman said.

The crash occurred in the 400 block of North Lewis Road in front of Chesterbrook Academy. Investigators determined Jackson’s vehicle was traveling northbound on North Lewis Road. Thompson, authorities said, was jogging along the southbound shoulder of the roadway in a northbound direction.

Due to Jackson “being impaired, distracted and driving in a reckless manner,” his car traveled to the left, crossed the double yellow line and entered the southbound travel lane, fatally striking Thompson, a mother of two, with the front, driver’s side of his car, authorities alleged.

According to AAA’s own recent poll of licensed drivers in Pennsylvania, 43 percent of respondents said distracted drivers were their number one fear on the road. By comparison, 23 percent of respondents said drunk drivers were their biggest concern.

Ninety-four percent of drivers told AAA they consider texting while driving a serious threat. However, more than one third of drivers, about 35 percent, admitted to reading a text or email while driving in the past 30 days and more than a quarter of drivers, about 26 percent, admitted to sending a message while driving in the past month.